Rock 'n' Roll History for
November 4


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1957 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
Jackie Wilson makes his Billboard chart debut when "Reet Petite (The Finest Girl You Ever Want To Meet)" enters at #93. Unfortunately for Wilson, the song would drop off the chart the following week. He would go on to place twenty-four songs on the Hot 100 over the next eleven years, including six Top Ten hits.


1961 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
Bob Dylan makes his debut at the Carnegie Chapter Hall in New York City. Most of the fifty people in attendance are his friends who paid two bucks to get in. Dylan was paid twenty dollars for the night.

November 4
Three weeks after turning 21 years old, Cliff Richard's fourth studio album, "I'm 21 Today" tops the UK chart.

1963 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
The Beatles appear at the Royal Command Performances at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London. In attendance are the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowden. It was here that John Lennon made his now famous announcement: "For our last number, I'd like to ask for your help. The people in the cheaper seats clap your hands, and the rest of you, if you'd just rattle your jewelry, we'd like to sing a song called Twist and Shout." John would later say "I was fantastically nervous, but I wanted to rebel a bit and that was the best I could do."

1972 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
Eight weeks after entering the Billboard Hot 100, "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash claims the top spot. It made #5 in the UK.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
The De Franco Family enjoyed their biggest hit when "Heartbeat - It's a Lovebeat" topped out at #3 on the Billboard chart. They would add two more Top 40 hits next year with "Abra-Ca-Dabra" (#32) and "Save The Last Dance For Me" (#18).

1974 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
Even though he was the one who was the most opposed to touring in the final years of The Beatles, George Harrison became the first to set out on a solo tour when he appeared in Vancouver, Canada with Billy Preston. It will be a troublesome show for him as his voice is ravaged after LP sessions and tour rehearsals. The concert and the rest of the tour played in front of thin crowds.

1975 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
Lynyrd Skynyrd perform at the Cardiff Capitol Theatre in Cardiff, Wales. A recording of the show would be released over thirty years later, on March 31st, 2009, as "Live at the Cadriff Capital Theatre".

1978 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
Van Morrison makes a guest appearance on NBC-TV's Saturday Night Live, where he performs two numbers from his recent album "Kingdom Hall". Unfortunately for Morrison, the appearance fails to boost sales of the LP, which failed to chart in the US or the UK.

November 4
Boston, the Rock band from the city of the same name, play their hometown for the first time since becoming major stars. They open a two night, sold out stand at the Boston Garden. Over the next nine years they will add four more Billboard Top 40 hits to their catalog, "A Man I'll Never Be" (#31 in 1979), "Amanda" (#1 in 1986), "We're Ready" (#9 in 1987) and "Can'tcha Say (You Believe In Me)" (#20 in 1987.

November 4
After returning from a two year hiatus, Anne Murray topped the Billboard Hot 100 with the biggest selling single of her career, "You Needed Me". It was her fourth US Top Ten single and made #22 in the UK. Anne would go on to put six more songs on Billboard's Top 40 Pop chart.


1983 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
Warner Bros. releases Paul Simon's sixth solo studio album, "Hearts and Bones". Art Garfunkel contributed to some of the tracks and the LP was intended to be a new Simon And Garfunkel album. However, Paul thought that some of the songs were too personal, especially the title track, which was written for his new wife, Carrie Fisher. Art's vocals were erased, and the rocky relationship between the duo was permanently soured. The album was only a moderate success, rising to #35 in the US and #34 in the UK.

1989 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
Elton John became only the third artist in history to put 50 hit records on the UK charts. His first was "Your Song" in 1971 and the fiftieth was "Sacrifice". The first two artists with 50 hits were Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard.

1991 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
Bobby "Blue" Bland, Booker T. & The M.G.s, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, The Isley Brothers, Sam & Dave and The Yardbirds are elected to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.

1992 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
Elton John and his song writing partner Bernie Taupin sign a $39 million publishing contract with Warner-Chappell music. Elton will go on to add nine more Billboard Top 40 hits to his collection, including "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" (#4 in 1994) and "Candle In The Wind 1997" (#1 in 1997).

1994 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
Fred Smith, guitarist for the MC5 on their Shock-Rock hit "Kick Out The Jams", died of heart failure at the age of 46. Although that single could only rise to #82 on the Billboard Hot 100, the album of the same name peaked at #30 and was ranked at #294 in both 2003 and 2012 editions of Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

1997 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
After an 18 month delay, Capitol Records releases The Beach Boys' "The Pet Sounds Sessions", a 4-CD boxed set which details the creation of The Beach Boys' album "Pet Sounds". Overseen by producer Brian Wilson, the collection allows the listener to hear a capella vocals from the master tapes and alternate mixes of the songs.


2009 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
Robin Bachman and Blair Thornton, both former members of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, launched a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, Canada over the rights to the name of their iconic 1970s group. The suit claimed Randy Bachman and Fred Turner, the other members of the Rock quartet, signed away their rights to the names Bachman-Turner Overdrive, BTO and any similar brands when Randy left in 1977 to go solo. The suit would be successful.

2010 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
Aretha Franklin canceled all of her appearances until next Spring on the advice of her doctors. The 68 year old Queen Of Soul was released from a Detroit hospital on October 30th after being admitted for undisclosed reasons.

2012 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
A copyright infringement lawsuit filed by songwriter Guy Hobbs against Elton John and his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin over their hit song "Nikita" was thrown out of court. The Judge ruled that both songs shared similar themes and phrases, but that these were prevalent in modern music.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
Janis Joplin was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

November 4
During an interview on Detroit radio station WCSX, Ted Nugent was asked if he had a future in politics. He replied, "I have threatened to run for public office, because I have been prodded to do so... I believe that I would perform an enormous upgrade in returning to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and most important of all, accountability."

2020 - ClassicBands.com

November 4
Ken Hensley, keyboardist with Uriah Heep, died at the age of 75 at his home in Spain.




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